Speedlink Repute Gaming Mousepad
Feature
Speedlink Repute Gaming Mousepad is a worthy choice for anyone who appreciates the quiet gameplay that cloth pads offer.
The tech stuff
The Speedlink Repute mousepad possesses a heat-treated microfibre surface that feels very smooth and is naturally a very good surface for mouse tracking as well as smooth mouse movement. In addition to the very smooth surface, the pad has a very good non-slip backing that keeps it in place.
The pad is also very thin – only about 2mm – but that is how I like them with high-sensitivity mice, so everything is good so far. The official measurements of each size are 320 mm x 270 mm, but there is a small curved cutout that has been taken off from the bottom of the pad that decreases the surface area a little bit. The official measurements hold pretty well in reality, falling only 1-2mm short in the sample that we were sent.
The mousepad comes in a good box that can be used to transport the pad if you happen to be a mobile gamer, but I would have preferred a tubular container for that purpose. This is a minor complaint, however, and very much up to personal preferences and needs.
How does the pad fare in real use?
In our scoring, we focus our attention on the noise that the mice make as they move on the pad (result of friction) and the grip of the mouse mat onto the tabletop (stability). These observations total in our most important score: usability. In addition, we rate the look and feel of the mouse pads from our subjective point of view, attempting to give a representative score also on this front. In order to try out the headshot-capabilities of the pads, we play some of our favourite shooters at the moment.
Usability
I found the Repute to be one fine mousepad. The soft cloth surface makes very little noise when you move a mouse on the surface. The pad lies solidly on the table surface and never slips even in the most hectic gaming sessions. The size is just perfect as well, not covering too much of the table real estate, but giving enough room for mid-sensitivity mouse play. As high-sensitivity gamers, we had an overabundance of room, but very low-DPI gamers may feel the surface area to be too small.
Look and feel
The fabric surface is very soft and comfortable. The Repute logo is very stylish and goes not make you frown in embarrassment like some other gaming mousepads tend to do. The curved bottom edge was less useful to me, however, since I tend to roll the pad a little bit over the edge of the table, to protect the table surface from my hand, while giving the wrist a nice place to rest. With the curved edge, I needed to move the mousepad even more over the edge of the table to reach the same result. Once again, this is a very personal preference and a complaint that may only be topical to one gamer in the world.
As a downside of any fabric-coated mousepad, I must note that they do tend to pick up grime from your hands over time and will not stay shiny black forever. However, within the 2 week testing period we detected nothing like that happening, so it may be that Speedlink's heat-treated microfibers are a bit more resistant to this than regular cloth pads. They also gather and show dust particles, or course, but these can be brushed off easily enough.
Our scores:
Smoothness: 9.5
Noise: 9.5
Stability: 10
Look & Feel: 8.5
Total: 9
Overall, we can heartily recommend the Repute mousepad to any gamer who likes a thin, stable and accurate pad for their mousing needs. The price is very affordable and if you are in need of a new, good pad, we would propose that you give this one a try.